Our People: Founders

"Dancing is about connections … to our friends, to our families, to our neighbors. It is one of the most expressive ways we celebrate and communicate our cultures and communities. With Dancing Classrooms, we are able to reach children in existing classroom settings and address fundamental issues of mutual respect and self-esteem – issues that social dance puts into practice. We hope to inspire children through dance to do well, to respect one another, to be proud. This program is about more than dance, it is about teaching children to take a bow.” - Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne Marceau

Founders	Board of Directors	Teaching Artists

Founders

Board of Directors

Teaching Artists

Founders Jo Jo (Graham) Carcioppolo Founding Executive Director, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio Building on the groundbreaking work of her mentor, Pierre Dulaine, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio (DCNEO) was launched in 2008 by Ohio organizer and founding executive director, Jo Jo Carcioppolo. Dulaine started the Dancing Classroom (DC) m... [read more] Jo Jo (Graham) Carcioppolo Founding Executive Director, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio Building on the groundbreaking work of her mentor, Pierre Dulaine, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio (DCNEO) was launched in 2008 by Ohio organizer and founding executive director, Jo Jo Carcioppolo. Dulaine started the Dancing Classroom (DC) movement in 1994. As an experienced Teaching Artist, Educational Liaison, and Director of the DC Weekend Academy for Dulaine, Jo Jo Carcioppolo brings valuable experience to her role as Executive Director for DCNEO. Currently in their thirteenth year, more than 20,000 children throughout Northeast Ohio have been served by the organization. Mrs. Carcioppolo has been recognized by Fox 8 as one of “Cleveland’s Own” (2019), Inside Business Magazine (May/June 2011) as “One 2 Watch” and American Ballroom Theater as Teaching Artist of the Year (Award for Excellence 2008), the first ever recipient of the distinguished award. Ms. Carcioppolo is a graduate of the Musical Theater Conservatory at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York City. Pierre Dulaine Dancing Classrooms Founder Showdance champions and Broadway dance couple Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne Marceau founded the American Ballroom Theater Company (ABrT) in 1984 and established the company''s educational arm, Dancing Classrooms, in 1994. Internationally renowned perf... [read more] www.dancingclassrooms.com Pierre Dulaine Dancing Classrooms Founder Showdance champions and Broadway dance couple Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne Marceau founded the American Ballroom Theater Company (ABrT) in 1984 and established the company''s educational arm, Dancing Classrooms, in 1994. Internationally renowned performers and teachers, Dulaine & Marceau are four-time winners of the British Exhihition Championships, earned tbe 1993 Dance Magazine Award, and received the 1989 - 1990 Astaire Award for Best Dancing on Broadway, in the roles they created and choreographed as the mellifluous couple in Tommy Tune''s Grand Hotel. Most recently their influence has extended into films, with the major motion picture Take The Lead. The film, starring Antonio Banderas as Pierre Dulaine, was inspired by Pierre''s teaching experience in schools. www.dancingclassrooms.com

Founders

Jo Jo (Graham) Carcioppolo
Founding Executive Director, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio
Building on the groundbreaking work of her mentor, Pierre Dulaine, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio (DCNEO) was launched in 2008 by Ohio organizer and founding executive director, Jo Jo Carcioppolo. Dulaine started the Dancing Classroom (DC) m... [read more]

Pierre Dulaine
Dancing Classrooms Founder
Showdance champions and Broadway dance couple Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne Marceau founded the American Ballroom Theater Company (ABrT) in 1984 and established the company''s educational arm, Dancing Classrooms, in 1994. Internationally renowned perf... [read more]
www.dancingclassrooms.com